From Our Ashes
by Miss Rhyme
Summary: A pheonix will rise again from its ashes. Now, Harry and Draco must try to rise from the ashes of their past and present. Alone, it is impossible, but maybe they can do it together. HarryxDraco / Mature Content in Later Chapters


Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Harry Potter.

Warnings: There may be scenes of a sexual nature later on. You are pre-warned.

* * *

Draco felt a shiver roll over his skin, which meant the latest young witch had apparated off of Malfoy property. Out of them all, she had probably been the best suited for marrying into his family. She had been a beauty with dark, painted lips and bright blue eyes. Her manners were flawless, a lovely façade of meek movements covering up calculated gestures. The perfect pureblood witch of his generation had sat across from him only minutes prior, and now, she was probably waiting anxiously for a floo call or owl announcing his wish to properly court and woo her.

A snap of his fingers brought a frightened elf to his side, all quivers and sniffles as it wrung its tiny hands and shuffled its crooked feet.

"Send a post to Miss Williams. Make it the same as the rest," he told the disgusting creature, barely sparing it a glance.

"Ye'sir! Right 'way, sir!" squeaked the elf before it popped out of sight.

His mother was a crafty witch, especially when she got it into her head to meddle in the life of her only son. This seemed to happen whenever she suspected he was troubled or wanting for something, and thanks to her new paranoia of Draco being a poor recluse, he'd been made to entertain a never-ending circus of money hungry witches, all of whom were turned down.

It had been sometime after the fifth girl but before the sixth that he'd grown tired of writing out the same message over and over, so now, to save time and energy on his part, he'd spelled at least two dozen of the revolting letters. When a girl left the manor, he could just have an elf seal the letter and attach it to an owl.

Of course, his mother wasn't necessarily wrong in her thinking. Draco did want a family of his own. He wanted the gorgeous wife who would always keep his days full of fire and love, and a child that he could spoil and coddle. He didn't want for much, and just a small family, like what his once was, would have been perfect for him. But, that wasn't his to have. He couldn't properly love someone when he detested leaving the manor, and to raise a child within the walls that had been defiled by 'that' man was unthinkable. He was confined to the past.

Relaxing back into the plush chair, he watched the flames dancing inside of the fireplace. He was twenty-four now, and other than odd shopping trips with Pansy or forced parties with Blaise, he never left Malfoy Manor anymore. There wasn't anything outside of the haunted walls for him, after all, and he knew that.

After his father's imprisonment, they'd been made to pay restitution, the same as most of the other pureblood families. However, their money had come from generations of corrupt dealings and manipulation, and their vaults were anything but bare. It had been barely a flick on his wrist, and money was no more an issue now than when he'd been a child crying for a new broom. There was no need for him to venture out and attempt to work.

And on the few trips to Diagon Alley with Pansy, there had been little enjoyment. Name-calling had been the least of his worries on the last trip, even. One wizard had become increasingly brazen as he followed the couple as they attempted to walk away, shouting and screaming as he drug both the Malfoy and Parkinson names through the mud. Draco tried to ignore the man, hoping he'd abandon his rant once they entered a shop. Pansy, ever the tactless shrew, had no such ideas and proceeded to sling dirt right back at the reddening man.

At the end of the day, Draco had been hexed twice, once by the man's poor aim when he'd tried to level a hex onto Pansy and then again by a witness after Draco retaliated. The Aurors arrived, took statements from everyone in the area, and gave fines to both Draco and Pansy for being belligerent and endangering the public. Pansy received an additional fine after trying to flirt her way out of it. It seemed the officer was bent, according to an irate Pansy later that day.

So, not needing to worry about money and knowing what awaited him if he did leave, Draco remained at Malfoy Manor. Thinking back, he knew it had probably been nearly three months since he'd last gone anywhere, and that had only been to meet Blaise's latest wife.

Normally, after rejecting another girl sent by his mother, he'd floo Pansy or Blaise over for a chat. Looking towards the powder against the side of the fire place, he wanted to do just that, but this time, he would be alone.

Pansy was happily traveling through Nepal doing what she called 'free-lancing' for the gossip rag she'd been writing at for the last two years. He knew she'd come back with some scandalous story of betrayal, adultery, or even rumored murder. She always did, and very little of it was actually true. What Pansy was really doing was partying, grabbing up boy-toys, and buying whatever caught her eye, all at the expense of the magazine. She wouldn't be comforting him tonight.

Blaise seldom left the country, which should have made him a reliable source of companionship, but that was far from the case. If he wasn't enjoying a social gathering, he was locating his next bride or gambling his time away in Ministry politics, something Draco had never had any desire to tangle himself in. Blaise, however, loved the mind-games and constant threats he got from working at the Ministry.

For a moment, Draco considered checking in on Theo, but the notion was quickly squashed. Theo was brilliant to talk business with, but beyond that, the man had the personality of one of Gringott's goblins. Galleons colored his vision and ruled his world. All Theo and he spoke of were investment plans, and he really didn't want that headache now.

Finding nothing better to do, unless he wished to strike up a conversation with one of the house elves, which he really didn't, Draco removed himself from his seat and went to fetch a sheaf of paper and a quill. At the least, he could write his mother in France and kindly ask her to leave his personal life alone. Hopefully, he wouldn't receive a worried and upset howler this time.

* * *

The ceremony was quiet. A few brief words of memories and loss were spoken over stifled sobs. The small crowd slowly dissipated as the coffin was lowered into the ground, her final resting place.

"Uncle Harry, how is Grandmother supposed to wake up if they cover her in dirt?"

Those innocent words wound something dark and barbed round Harry's heart as he glanced down to see confused, hazel eyes peering at him from beneath a fringe of violet hair. He was so much like his mother and his father. Teddy was a bright six year old who had a pension for mayhem and mischief, despite his always quiet and calm demeanor. Andromeda had done a brilliant job of raising Teddy.

Dropping down to his knees, Harry tugged the small body tightly to his chest, holding him securely as silent tears rolled away from blood-shot eyes. Teddy had lost a kind grandfather, a fun-loving cousin, a doting and fearless mother, and a loyal father before his first months of life, and now, he'd lost his grandmother. He wasn't sure how to tell the child what exactly was going on.

"Uncle Harry? Are you hurt?" Teddy asked, winding his small arms around Harry. "Aunt Hermione says you're careless with your health." His tone changed from worried to accusing in an instant as he bumped his head against Harry's.

Choking on the chuckle trying to escape his dry throat, Harry pulled away from Teddy and shook his head. "No, I'm not hurt, and Hermione just loves to nag everyone. Wait until you're older. She'll be after you, too." Reaching up, he fondly ruffled Teddy's hair, watching as it turned into a sea-green under his touch. "I'm sad, Teddy. I'm sad because I'm going to miss your grandmother." His words were soft and strangled as he blinked his eyes against a new wave of sorrow.

Confusion stole across Teddy's face again before small tears rolled over one cheek. "She won't wake up. Will she? She's not getting up?"

"I'm so sorry, Teddy, but she won't."

Harry found his arms filled with Teddy's small body again as the boy tried to hide against him. All he could do was hold him tighter and pray that he could make Andromeda, Tonks, and Remus proud as he took over raising their boy.

"Harry? Teddy?" Hermione's voice washed over the wailing being muffled by his chest. Her eyes were tired and hooded as she held a squirming Rose in her arms. "I'm sorry, Harry. Everyone's going to the Burrow now, and Molly wanted to know if you were coming."

Glancing down at the shaking boy and back up, Harry didn't know. He didn't know what to do. He could take Teddy to his home, which was familiar, or he could take him to the Burrow, sure to be filled to the brim with Weasleys and their offspring.

"I think you should both come," Hermione offered at his hopeless look. Harry was fond of children, and they got along well. But, she also knew that Harry had never had Teddy for more than two hours at a time and was being thrust into the life of a single-parent overnight. He essentially knew nothing of children. Rose made him nervous sometimes with her twittering and random bouts of screaming fits.

Bending over a bit and watching the huddled mass against Harry, Hermione plastered on her sweetest smile and asked, "Teddy, would you like that? Victoire will be there, and I believe Granny Molly made those tarts you love."

The sniffing grew quiet for a moment before small eyes looked up at her, his small head bobbing. "Victoire will really be there? And the tarts? Promise?"

Hermione's smile brightened as she nodded. "Am I ever wrong?" It was a little conceited to say, but it did the trick as Teddy pulled away from Harry and shook his head. He gave a distressed look to the grave before looking back at Harry.

"Is it okay to go?"

"Of course, Teddy. If you want to, it's fine, and I'm sure your Grandmother would like that, too."

That was all that was needed as Teddy nodded once more, hair now darker than Harry's, and took off towards Molly and Arthur. He watched Molly scoop Teddy up as he approached, holding him above her head before bringing him back down into her arms, where he seemed to cling with small hands bunched around her neck.

"He's a lot like Tonks and Lupin," Hermione commented as she offered Harry a hand. "He'll be fine, Harry, especially with a family as large as this one to support him. They won't allow him to be sad for too long."

Taking the offered hand, Harry stood up and gave Hermione a quick hug and peck on the cheek. "Yeah, thanks, Hermione. You always help me."

His words earned him a snort and swat to his shoulder.

"Harry, don't bother thanking me. We're friends, and we help each other. If you ever want to talk or some advice or suggestions with Teddy, our door is always open. Ron and I will always be here, for Teddy and you," she said primly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Now, let's catch up before George decides he needs to let loose some other ridiculous invention to cheer everyone up. Poor Fleur is probably going to skin him alive if her teeth don't turn back white."

Harry chuckled lowly as they headed towards the waiting group, his family. He hadn't married Ginny, as everyone assumed he would. They only dated a year after the war before splitting, but despite not formally becoming family, they still treated him like another son. Ron was his best friend and brother. George was his business partner and drinking buddy, and Hermione was still his guardian angel and caretaker while Ginny had become a little sister and on occasion, another drinking buddy.

He'd always wanted a large family as close as the Weasleys, and it seemed as though he had it. Now, he even had Teddy full-term and not only visits, which terrified him. Andromeda had been a perfect guardian for Teddy, while he'd sort of taken on the role Sirius might have played.

Even with a large family waving him on and holding him up, something was missing, and he was afraid of screwing up without whatever it was.

* * *

A/N : Well, there it is. The first chapter to my first fanfiction here. I know it's pathetically short, but it's just to set the stage. The other chapters will be longer. This fic isn't long, though. I'm thinking four or five chapters, so it'll be finished soon. Updates will be on Sunday unless something comes up, which will move the date to Monday. Well, thank you for reading and let me know what you think so far! Love it? Hate it? Tell me!


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